The present invention relates to a coin dispensing apparatus for a vending machine or an exchange machine.
A conventional coin dispensing apparatus in a vending machine or an exchange machine has coin tubes in units of denominations. For example, coin dispensing mechanisms for coin tubes of Y10, Y50 and Y100 coins are respectively actuated to dispense the Y10, Y50 and Y100 coins. However, only Y10 coins, only Y10 and Y100 coins, or frequently Y10 coins and rarely Y10 and Y100 coins are used in accordance with the type of vending machine or exchange machine. In this manner, the types of coins and their dispensing frequency vary in accordance with the prices of items sold in vending machines and the like.
For this reason, only coins of a predetermined denomination are dispensed, and there becomes a shortage thereof. As a result, the operation efficiency of vending machines is degraded. In order to prevent this, the number of coin tubes for frequently dispensed coins is increased to increase the number of coins which are most frequently dispensed in accordance with the prices of items to be sold. For this purpose, different coin dispensing apparatuses must be manufactured in accordance with the coin tubes since the coin dispensing mechanisms and the coin dispensing control devices for the different configurations of the coin tubes must vary. However, different coin dispensing apparatuses have disadvantages in maintenance and changes in coins to be dispensed upon changes in prices of items to be sold.
Two conventional coin dispensing systems have been proposed: a dispensing method in which a coin is dispensed from a coin tube having coins stacked in the direction of thickness thereof; and a dispensing method in which a coin is dispensed from a coin shoot having coins stacked in the radial direction thereof. In a conventional coin dispensing apparatus for dispensing coins from the coin shoot, a lever and a pin extend inside the coin shoot, and the lever and the pin are alternately brought into the coin shoot or are moved away from the coin shoot by means of solenoids to dispense a predetermined number of coins. Since the lever and the pin are slid into or away from the coin shoot, the sliding surfaces of the lever and the pin are easily contaminated with dust and dirt. Even if the solenoid is operated, the lever and the pin may not be projected into or away from the coin shoot. In addition, when different coins are dispensed from a plurality of coin shoots, the different coin shoots cannot be arranged in an overlap manner. As a result, a compact dispensing apparatus cannot be manufactured.